Finger-pointing starts over spate of fatalities at Sibanye mines
Sibanye-Stillwater says workers’ failure to follow rules and procedures is largely to blame for a spike in fatal accidents at its South African operations, where 19 people have died since January. The company accounts for more than a third of the deaths in South African mines this year, and faces growing criticism from unions and the government. In the latest incident, four workers died and one was still missing on Tuesday night at its Kloof operation. "It is inexplicable to us," Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said of the increase in fatal accidents. "We think a lot of it is behavioural and due to people taking risks and not following safety procedures." Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe visited the mine with inspectors from his department on Tuesday night. In a series of tweets from the mine on Tuesday night, he acknowledged that workers’ safety was partly their responsibility, but emphasised that mine owners had a legal obligation to provide safe working environments. "T...
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